Thursday, January 17, 2008
News Great news, Georgia! A new 'coal-fueled' power plant's been proposed!
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:51 PM
Coming in over the transom: A new "coal-fueled" power plant has been proposed for Washington County. Here are the filthy details.
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
Yippee, i knew the rest of the State would catch up with Bbib County eventually! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W_Scherer_Power_Plant "According to Natural History Magazine, as of 2006 Plant Scherer is the largest single point-source for carbon dioxide emissions in the United States [1]. It was also ranked the 20th in the world in terms of carbon dioxide emissions by the Center for Global Development on its list of global power plants in November 2007. It was the only power plant in the United States that was listed in the world's top 25 Carbon Dioxide producers.[2]"
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Thanks for covering this, Thomas. Just what Middle Georgia needs is more pollution. Plant Scherer emits more mercury, about 1700 lbs. a year, than any industry in Georgia. Plant Branch in Milledgeville near Sandersville and the proposed new coal fired power plant, emits the third most mercury of any power plant in Georgia. Bibb County has two fish advisories, one for mercury and the other for pcbs, for our Ocmulgee River the source of our drinking water. Babies are born in the U.S. every year to one in six mothers with enough mercury in their blood to put their babies at risk.
If you read what is on the website (http://www.power4georgians.com/) instead of comment on what you "think" you know, you will discover that the proposed plant in Sandersville is absolutely nothing like Plant Scherer nor Brand. The proposed plant may use coal, but it will reach supercritical, unlike its predecesors: particles emissions will be of the past, and gas pollution will not be comparable to other plants thanks to a high-burner technology that pulverizes the coal at an incredible efficiency rate. If you like, Plant Scherer and Brand compared to the proposed plant is like comparing emissions to a '56 Ford F-100 to a '08 Toyota Prius Hybrid.
Chandler, we're all good friends here. I did read the Web site -- even the FAQs. And yes, it'll be a helluva lot cleaner than what we're using now. That's commendable. But the proposed Washington County plant is still relying on coal. Coal that is coming from far, far away, in Wyoming. The longer coal is "affordable" and "efficient" the longer people will use it until crunch time comes. Solar and wind power may not be feasible in Georgia at the moment, but the longer people hold out on exploring and investing in those alternative sources, the more costly they will be when needed. I was reading a "State of the States" report last night (available on stateline.org), and it said that France has one of the most sound infrastructures in the world. I've been there a couple of times, and from what I've seen, that's true. Granted, they're taxed out the buttocks, but I think it shows that building that infrastructure as a country grows -- using a little foresight -- prevents the more expensive "oh-shit-what-are-we-gonna-do-now" moment the country's facing now. I'm just looking for a little proactive thinking around here.
during Plant Scherer's planning stages, the community was assured the plant would be using the cleanest burning coal available. unfortunately, that never materialized, so why should we believe you now?
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